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March 20, 2024
NEENAH — The five investment and trust professionals who came together in 2004 to launch Legacy Private Trust Company started from scratch with zero dollars under advisement because they were unable to recruit former clients.
Twenty years later, the Neenah-based business, located at 2 Neenah Center, 5th floor, has $2 billion in funds under advisement and provides customized wealth management with an emphasis on developing long-term personal client relationships.
“It’s gone beyond our expectations, but our focus on providing personalized service and advice has been a differentiating factor,” Lisa Kewley, vice president and senior trust and financial advisor, said.
She said Legacy’s original employees felt the banks they worked for were more focused on the bottom line than what benefited clients.
“We were happy we could focus on clients and their needs, and that proved successful for us,” Kewley said.
Legacy Private Trust serves as a fiduciary for its clients, Joe McGrane, executive vice president, said.
A fiduciary is someone who manages property or money on behalf of someone else.
Joe McGrane
“The law requires you to manage the person’s assets for their benefit — and not your own,” McGrane, adding that many of the founders’ previous clients eventually moved their investments over to Legacy, said.
Services
Legacy offers a wide range of services, including financial planning, investment management, retirement planning, tax planning, trust services, estate planning and charitable giving.
Helping clients with their charitable giving sets Legacy apart from other wealth managers, McGrane said.
“Legacy helps clients with their giving because it is something they highly value,” he said.
“Charitable giving has a great deal of meaning to clients, especially those with substantial wealth. They feel the need to give back and giving is a part of their lives. We help them maximize their gifts as part of the total planning process.”
Offering more
Led by founder and president Michael Mahlik, Legacy was able to distinguish itself in the early 2000s as the trust and financial services sector went through a series of mergers and relocations by focusing on its personalized client service, McGrane said.
“By focusing on its clients, Legacy was able to attract clients throughout the state who were looking to create long-term, one-on-one relationships,” he said. “There was a lot of turnover in the industry then and not a lot of personalized relationships. We were able to build those relationships and provide that stability.”
McGrane said developing those relationships has been key.
“We work with second and third generations of the same family,” he said. “They see how we treated and worked with their grandparents and parents and saw that level of trust, so they turn to us to manage their assets.”
Kewley echoed McGrane’s thoughts.
“To provide that personal touch, you need to have a genuine interest in people and what’s going on in their lives,” she said. “You spend time with them, listening to them and offering advice where you can.”
Lisa Kewley
Clients like meeting one-on-one with Legacy’s team, with many of them living outside of Wisconsin, Kewley said.
“I have clients throughout the country whom I frequently travel to meet in person,” she said. “Those personal meetings are a great way to get to know each other better.”
McGrane said most of Legacy’s clients often have a tie to the area.
“Either their grandparents or parents were from Wisconsin,” he said.
Legacy’s staff works closely with a client’s other advisers, including attorneys, accountants and insurance agents, Kewley said.
“It is important we all work together for our clients,” she said. “It’s like putting a jigsaw puzzle together, but that way, we have a complete picture of what’s going on.”
Generating growth
Legacy has 46 employees and has satellite offices in Oconomowoc, Madison and Wausau, in addition to its Neenah headquarters.
Legacy opened the Oconomowoc office after taking over the management of the Pabst Family Trust’s assets.
When looking to expand into the Madison and Wausau markets, Kewley said they already had some clients in those locations and also knew there were a lot of potential clients in those markets.
“People like meeting in person and having someone in a local office can go a long way,” she said. “We see a lot of potential growth, especially in the corridor between Oconomowoc and Madison.”
As wealth is passed down to the next generations, McGrane said that also opens the door to more clients.
“You build trust with these families,” he said. “You get to know them, they get to know you and the business continues to grow.”
To learn more, head to lptrust.com.
